Pylant Geneology

[BOLD:]HOGGARD FAMILY[:BOLD] (From: "History of Marshall County, Oklahoma".) Calvin Peter Hoggard was born January 1, 1866, in a log cabin in Bell County, Tex. His formal education ended after the fourth grade. An avid reader and spellbinding storyteller, he loved to sing and to play the violin ("best breakdown fiddler in Marshall County"), and he wrote poetry all his life. In his later years he belonged to the Browning Literary Club in Kingston, Okla.
C. P. left home at the age of fourteen and headed for the "Staked Plains" of West Texas. He rode the Chisholm Trail and the cattle trains to Kansas City, where he bought his first musical instrument, a "fiddle," in a pawnshop. After working as a cowboy on several ranches, among them the English-owned L-S (Lee and Scott) and the famous X-I-T, he settled in the town of Okra, Indian Territory, where he operated a general store. In Okra and, later, in Byars, Indian Territory, he went into real estate, ranching (V-Bar was his brand), and served as a "law consultant" (self-taught).
The father of twelve children, his first marriage was to Mary Alice Price. Their four children were Rena Mae, Elizabeth Regina, William Jennings, and Ina Geraldine. Left a widower by Alice's early death, C. P. married Eva Lillian Smith, of Byars, in 1903. Eva was born May 8, 1883, in a covered wagon on the banks of the San Marcos River in Texas. Her family settled in Oklahoma Territory, where she grew up to become a legendary beauty and model for a portrait painter. She attended Hargrove College, Ardmore, Indian Territory. An accomplished musician (violin, piano, mandolin, Spanish guitar) and a painter, she was the recipient of several college awards, including a gold medal in elocution. Throughout her life, an abundance of talent and an abiding sense of humor were delightfully revealed in mimicry and pantomime.
While appraising land in Southern Oklahoma for the United States government, C. P. came to the little community of Helen's Hills. He liked the place, bought a house, and in August, 1908, moved his family and possessions via the Frisco Railroad to the town now known as Kingston. There he continued his work as rancher, realtor, and law consultant until his death in 1938. (Eva died in 1927.) This proud, complex, talented, optismictic couple were leaders in the civic, cultural and educational development of Kingston. They sponsored the first "Chautauquah" in Marshall County; they donated land for the schoolhouse, water tower, city park ("picnic-ground"), and the city "dump-ground." He served on the school board, was mayor, and justice of the peace.
C. P. was generous with time and money. At ease with the rich and powerful, he was friend to the poor, the sick and the helpless. No one in need was ever turned away from the door. As a U. S. government Indian agent, he was counselor and protector of the Chickasaws and Choctaws in southern Oklahoma.
Eva and C. P. had eight children: Marjorie Marquerite, Mel-Pah Jacqueline, Georgia Josephine, Harold Calvin, Lara Guldmar, Eva Eileen, Olaf, and Richard Van Lloyd. All were endowed with extraordinary musical talent, performing on a variety of instruments and as singers. The large repertoire of classical music did not exclude the enjoyment of hymns, cowboy ballads, and folk songs. (Early memories were of C. P. playing old-time fiddling tunes "seconded" by Eva, and later by various of the children, on piano.) The dictionary was well-worn, as favorite pastimes were reading, spelling, and geography. Other prized possessions (besides the piano) included a tall, cabinet-style Victrola and an impressive collection of Victor Red Seal records. Music by the world's greatest artists thus provided almost constant accompaniment for household chores. An ecclectic repertoire permitted the likes of Caruso, Paderewski, Melba, Maud Powell, Schumann-Heink, and string quartets to abide amicably with dramatic readings ("Lasca," "Sherman's March") and the popular music of Sousa"s Band, Paul Whiteman, and theater-organist Jesse Crawford! (Eva loved the "pipe organ".)
Occupations of the ten children who lived and grew to adulthood in Kingston include: minister, service engineer, bus driver, three homemakers, and four professional musician/educators.
This pioneer Marshall County family, in small-town vernacular referred to as "them Hoggards" (perhaps more with respect and pride than unkindness or jealousy), exemplified many of those human values which touch heart, mind and soul. They will be remembered for their "being different," for their creativity, unique talents, rugged individualism, generosity, inspirational leadership, and service to mankind through various kinds of ministries (youth, the elderly, the handicapped, the disadvantaged, and the gifted) in church, school and community. Their efforts and outreach have brought honor and distinction not only to the family and to Kingston, Marshall County and Oklahoma, but they have received national and international recognition. [UND:]by Mel-Pah Jacqueline Richman[:UND]